Beyond Sociology: Trans-Civilizational Dialogues and Planetary Conversations PDF
Preview Beyond Sociology: Trans-Civilizational Dialogues and Planetary Conversations
BEYOND SOCIOLOGY Trans-Civilizational Dialogues and Planetary Conversations EDITED BY ANANTA KUMAR GIRI Beyond Sociology Ananta Kumar Giri Editor Beyond Sociology Trans-Civilizational Dialogues and Planetary Conversations Editor Ananta Kumar Giri Madras Institute of Development Studies Chennai, India ISBN 978-981-10-6640-5 ISBN 978-981-10-6641-2 (eBook) https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-6641-2 Library of Congress Control Number: 2017959739 © Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2018 This work is subject to copyright. All rights are solely and exclusively licensed by the Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed. The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use. The publisher, the authors and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the pub- lisher nor the authors or the editors give a warranty, express or implied, with respect to the material contained herein or for any errors or omissions that may have been made. The publisher remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institu- tional affiliations. Cover illustration: © Sarat Kumar Panda Printed on acid-free paper This Palgrave Macmillan imprint is published by Springer Nature The registered company is Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. The registered company address is: 152 Beach Road, #21- 01/04 Gateway East, Singapore 189721, Singapore For P.D. Khera, Björn Wittrock, Rabi Narayan Mohanty, James L. Peacock and Robert Wuthnow P reface Disciplines such as sociology emerged in the context of the rise of the modern world, and today there is an epochal challenge to rethink, trans- form and practice these disciplines in transdisciplinary and transciviliza- tional ways, where the very terms of our discourse such as society, self, culture, state and the world emerge out of dialogues among civilizations and cultures and rooted planetary conversations across borders rather than continuing the uncritical continuance and reproduction of Eurocentric definitions of situations. Beyond Sociology carries such a project of critique, creativity, reconstitution and transformation as it seeks to cultivate path- ways of transdisciplinary and transcivilizational sociology beyond the traps of singular valorizations—Western or Eastern. This journey of ours, exploring the pathways of Beyond Sociology, began in 2005 at the World Congress of Sociology in Stockholm organized by the International Institute of Sociology. My friend and co-traveler John Clammer and I had co-organized a session on this theme. Our book builds upon this session and includes some new contributions as well. The Stockholm conference was nurtured by Björn Wittröck, Principal of Swedish Collegium of Advanced Studies (SCASS), Uppsala. Björn is a remarkable human being, a deep and kind seeker and inspirer, and is a great institution leader. Over the last three decades Björn has nurtured so many collaborative conversations and projects around the world and has brought many scholars to SCASS, Uppsala, to cultivate new ways of thinking and being. Ever since my first meeting with him in 1999, I have continued to draw inspiration from his indefatigable energy and devoted scholarship. We dedicate this book as a gift of our love and gratitude to Björn for the way he vii viii PREFACE has challenged us to go beyond disciplines and familiar prisons in search of broad horizons. We also dedicate this book to four other creative social scientists who challenge us to go beyond sociology and anthropology as we know. Robert Wuthnow is a creative sociologist whose sociological quest goes beyond conventional sociological concerns, and it explores issues of art, creativity and spirituality in open ways. His Creative Spirituality: The Way of the Artist is an inspiring example of such a journey. Similarly, James L. Peacock explores new modes of practicing social sciences in creative and transdisciplinary ways, combining deep scholarship with generosity of spirit and heart. His Anthropological Lens is a remarkable example of such a jour- ney. P.D. Khera was an inspiring teacher and student of sociology who nur- tured generations of students at Hindu College, University of Delhi. What was remarkable was that every afternoon after classes he used to spend more time in the library than the students. Khera was also deeply concerned with the plight of the human condition, which he observed as he walked through the streets of Delhi. In 1984 he marched against the anti-Sikh riots, and after his retirement he spent time with tribal people of India. Rabi Narayan Mohanty was a devoted teacher and scholar of sociology who nurtured generations of students in Odisha. He lived and breathed with the spirit of sociology until Fate tragically took him away from us in a road accident, which took place as he was on his way to attend a sociology board meeting at Fakir Mohan University, Balasore. Mohanty’s The Academic Elite is a landmark study that inspires scholars of sociology to strive for new depth and height in their research and understanding. It is with gratitude that we dedicate this book to P.D. Khera, James L. Peacock, Rabi Narayan Mohanty, Björn Wittrock and Robert Wuthnow for what we owe to them as regards sociology, humanity and much more. The book has taken a long time to come together, and I thank fellow contributors for their patience and kindness. I thank my dear friend Marcus Bussey of the University of the Sunshine Coast, Australia for his thoughtful Afterword. I thank Sara Crowley Vigneau and Connie Li of Palgrave Macmillan for their kind interest in and support for the project. I thank Ashwin V. for his help in preparing the manuscript. Finally, I hope this work helps us to cultivate new sociological imagination and new ways of being alive and understanding the world in these challenging times of ours. Deepavali Festival of Colors Chennai Ananta Kumar Giri 18 October 2017 a g cknowledgements and ratitude We are grateful to the following sources, where the chapters were first published. Chapter 1: Daya Krishna, Social Philosophy: Past and Future (Shimla: Indian Institute of Advanced Studies, 1969). Chapters 3, 6 and 10 build upon Ananta Kumar Giri, Beyond Sociology: Windows and Horizons (Jaipur: Rawat Publications, 2009). Chapter 7 first appeared as Philip Wexler, Society and Mysticism. In: Philip Wexler and Jonathan Garb (Eds.), After Spirituality: Studies in Mystical Traditions (New York: Peter Lang, 2012). Printed with the kind permission of the publisher. ix c ontents 1 Beyond Sociology: An Introduction and An Invitation 1 Ananta Kumar Giri 2 The Concept of Society: Beyond the Socio- Centric and Atman-Centric Predicament 11 Daya Krishna 3 Beyond Sociology: Cultivating an Ontological Epistemology of Participation 29 Ananta Kumar Giri 4 Deep Sociology 53 John Clammer 5 Inferential Dialectics: On Dialectical Reasoning in Critical Social Science and the Socio-Cultural World 71 Piet Strydom 6 Moral Consciousness and Communicative Action: From Discourse Ethics to Spiritual Transformations 93 Ananta Kumar Giri xi xii CONTENTS 7 Beyond Sociology: Mysticism and Society 123 Philip Wexler 8 Confucian Self-Transformation as an Alternative Sociology: Meaningful Action vs. Performance with Differential Profundity 145 Wei-Hsu Lu 9 Structure, Agency and Victimization: On the Ethics of Scientific Writing 173 Gudrun Dahl 10 With and Beyond Plurality of Standpoints: Sociology and the Sadhana of Multi-Valued Logic and Living 193 Ananta Kumar Giri 11 Afterword: Beyond a Materialist Sociology 221 Marcus Bussey Index 225
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